NEW YORK (AP) - With a series of high-profile workplace sex scandals on their minds, employers are making sure their holiday office parties don't become part of the problem.

There will be less booze at many. An independent business organization has renewed its annual warning not to hang mistletoe. And some will have party monitors, keeping an eye out for inappropriate behavior.

TV and movies often depict office parties as wildly inappropriate bacchanals or excruciatingly awkward fiascoes, if not, horrifyingly, both. But even a regular office party can be complicated because the rules people normally observe at work don't quite apply, which makes it easier for people to accidentally cross a line - or try to get away with serious misbehavior. Especially when too much drinking is involved.

According to a survey by Chicago-based consulting company Challenger, Gray & Christmas, only 49 percent of companies plan to serve alcohol at their holiday events. Last year that number was 62 percent, the highest number in the decade the firm has run its survey. The number had been going up each year as the economy improved.

"As soon as you introduce alcohol at an off-site activity, peoples' guards are dropped," said Ed Yost, manager of employee relations and development for the Society for Human Resource Management based in Alexandria, Virginia. "It's presumed to be a less formal, more social environment. Some people will drink more than they typically would on a Friday night or a Saturday because it's an open bar or a free cocktail hour."

The Huffington Post reported Friday that Vox Media, which runs sites including Vox and Recode, won't have an open bar this year at its holiday party and will instead give employees two tickets they can redeem for drinks. It will also have more food than in years past. The company recently fired its editorial director, Lockhart Steele, after a former employee made allegations of sexual harassment against him.

A survey by Bloomberg Law said those kinds of safeguards are common: while most companies ask bartenders or security or even some employees to keep an eye on how much partygoers are drinking, others limit the number of free drinks or the time they're available. A small minority have cash bars instead of an open bar.

The National Federation of Independent Businesses recommends all of those steps, and adds another that might seem obvious these days: don't hang mistletoe. It's been giving those suggestions for several years.

Yost said he always gets a lot of requests for advice in planning and managing these events, but he's getting even more of them this year. He said he'll be spending his corporate holiday party the way he always does: patrolling hallways, checking secluded areas and trying to watch for people who look like they are stuck in an uncomfortable situation - for example, inappropriate touching or a conversation that's taken a bad turn. If they're visibly uncomfortable, he'll intervene and plan a later conversation with the person responsible.

The Challenger, Gray & Christmas survey shows that about 80 percent of companies will have a holiday party, the same as last year. And not everyone is planning changes.

Anthony Vitiello, the marketing director for software company Anton Robb Group, said he planned his company's event and didn't rethink it. For the last few years the firm's has marked the holiday with drinks and passed hors d'oeuvres in the wide cellar of a local restaurant. Vitiello thinks the formal setting makes the event calmer.

"We haven't had any incidents, not a single one I can recall, where anyone got loud or over-consumed," he said. He added that many of his company's 25 employees go out for drinks once a month, and he's not aware of any cases of misconduct.

Yost said he's not making changes to his group's event either. He added that companies concerned about sexual misconduct need to look further than the holiday party.

"While there are additional complications that are associated with a holiday event, that's one day a year," he said.

(Copyright 2017 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

BREWSTER, Wash. - Deputies and officers in Okanogan County are investigating after a shooting Sunday morning. Okanogan County Sheriff's deputies and officers from the Brewster police Department responded to a call at 502 North Star Road in Brewster for a report of a 19-year-old man with a gun.

BREWSTER, Wash. - Deputies and officers in Okanogan County are investigating after a shooting Sunday morning. Okanogan County Sheriff's deputies and officers from the Brewster police Department responded to a call at 502 North Star Road in Brewster for a report of a 19-year-old man with a gun.

The Spokane Fire Department is still looking into the cause of a fire Monday.

Authorities in Mississippi say a 9-year-old boy has shot his 13-year-old sister in the head and wounded her after an argument over a video game controller. Monroe County Sheriff Cecil Cantrell told local news outlets that the girl wouldn't give up the video game controller when her brother wanted it on Saturday. He says the boy shot the girl in the back of the head and that the bullet entered her brain.

Authorities in Mississippi say a 9-year-old boy has shot his 13-year-old sister in the head and wounded her after an argument over a video game controller. Monroe County Sheriff Cecil Cantrell told local news outlets that the girl wouldn't give up the video game controller when her brother wanted it on Saturday. He says the boy shot the girl in the back of the head and that the bullet entered her brain.

ALLENTOWN, Pa. (AP) - The mother of a Pennsylvania teenager says she went from not eating or sleeping to crying tears of relief when her missing daughter was located in a popular Mexican resort city. Miu Luu tells The (Allentown) Morning Call she's happy 16-year-old Amy Yu has been found. Federal agents and Mexican authorities found Amy and 45-year-old Kevin Esterly Saturday in Playa del Carmen.

ALLENTOWN, Pa. (AP) - The mother of a Pennsylvania teenager says she went from not eating or sleeping to crying tears of relief when her missing daughter was located in a popular Mexican resort city. Miu Luu tells The (Allentown) Morning Call she's happy 16-year-old Amy Yu has been found. Federal agents and Mexican authorities found Amy and 45-year-old Kevin Esterly Saturday in Playa del Carmen.

TACOMA, Wash. (AP) - Two former Pierce County sheriff's deputies are suing the county, saying the agency tried to cover up how a man who killed his wife and himself obtained the gun he used in the killings.

TACOMA, Wash. (AP) - Two former Pierce County sheriff's deputies are suing the county, saying the agency tried to cover up how a man who killed his wife and himself obtained the gun he used in the killings.

THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. (AP) - Authorities have released the names of the woman and the ex-husband who shot her to death at a busy Southern California mall. The Ventura County Sheriff's Office identified the victim in Saturday's shooting as 29-year-old Parisa Siddiqi and the suspect as 33-year-old Kevin Crane.

THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. (AP) - Authorities have released the names of the woman and the ex-husband who shot her to death at a busy Southern California mall. The Ventura County Sheriff's Office identified the victim in Saturday's shooting as 29-year-old Parisa Siddiqi and the suspect as 33-year-old Kevin Crane.

AUSTIN (AP) - At least two people were injured in another explosion in Texas’ capital Sunday night, after three package bombs detonated earlier this month in other parts of the city and killed two people and injured two others. Austin-Travis County Emergency Management Services tweeted that an explosion in southwest Austin had injured two men in their 20s who were hospitalized.

AUSTIN (AP) - At least two people were injured in another explosion in Texas’ capital Sunday night, after three package bombs detonated earlier this month in other parts of the city and killed two people and injured two others. Austin-Travis County Emergency Management Services tweeted that an explosion in southwest Austin had injured two men in their 20s who were hospitalized.

LOS ANGELES - Jim Carrey is being criticized on social media for a portrait he painted that is believed to be White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders.The actor and comedian on Saturday tweeted the painting with the caption: "This is the portrait of a so-called Christian whose only purpose in life is to lie for the wicked. Monstrous!"

LOS ANGELES - Jim Carrey is being criticized on social media for a portrait he painted that is believed to be White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders.The actor and comedian on Saturday tweeted the painting with the caption: "This is the portrait of a so-called Christian whose only purpose in life is to lie for the wicked. Monstrous!"

AUSTIN (AP) - At least two people were injured in another explosion in Texas’ capital Sunday night, after three package bombs detonated earlier this month in other parts of the city and killed two people and injured two others. Austin-Travis County Emergency Management Services tweeted that an explosion in southwest Austin had injured two men in their 20s who were hospitalized.

AUSTIN (AP) - At least two people were injured in another explosion in Texas’ capital Sunday night, after three package bombs detonated earlier this month in other parts of the city and killed two people and injured two others. Austin-Travis County Emergency Management Services tweeted that an explosion in southwest Austin had injured two men in their 20s who were hospitalized.

The Spokane Fire Department is still looking into the cause of a fire Monday.

Authorities in Mississippi say a 9-year-old boy has shot his 13-year-old sister in the head and wounded her after an argument over a video game controller. Monroe County Sheriff Cecil Cantrell told local news outlets that the girl wouldn't give up the video game controller when her brother wanted it on Saturday. He says the boy shot the girl in the back of the head and that the bullet entered her brain.

Authorities in Mississippi say a 9-year-old boy has shot his 13-year-old sister in the head and wounded her after an argument over a video game controller. Monroe County Sheriff Cecil Cantrell told local news outlets that the girl wouldn't give up the video game controller when her brother wanted it on Saturday. He says the boy shot the girl in the back of the head and that the bullet entered her brain.

THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. (AP) - Authorities have released the names of the woman and the ex-husband who shot her to death at a busy Southern California mall. The Ventura County Sheriff's Office identified the victim in Saturday's shooting as 29-year-old Parisa Siddiqi and the suspect as 33-year-old Kevin Crane.

THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. (AP) - Authorities have released the names of the woman and the ex-husband who shot her to death at a busy Southern California mall. The Ventura County Sheriff's Office identified the victim in Saturday's shooting as 29-year-old Parisa Siddiqi and the suspect as 33-year-old Kevin Crane.

OKANOGAN COUNTY, Wash. - The Okanogan County Sheriff's Office reports deputies are investigating a drive-by shooting. It happened Friday around 10:20 p.m. Deputies responded to the Blue Mountain Motel. When they arrived they spoke with a group that was standing outside. Witnesses told the deputies they had heard shots and when they came outside they saw a gray colored four-door sedan.

OKANOGAN COUNTY, Wash. - The Okanogan County Sheriff's Office reports deputies are investigating a drive-by shooting. It happened Friday around 10:20 p.m. Deputies responded to the Blue Mountain Motel. When they arrived they spoke with a group that was standing outside. Witnesses told the deputies they had heard shots and when they came outside they saw a gray colored four-door sedan.

BREWSTER, Wash. - Deputies and officers in Okanogan County are investigating after a shooting Sunday morning. Okanogan County Sheriff's deputies and officers from the Brewster police Department responded to a call at 502 North Star Road in Brewster for a report of a 19-year-old man with a gun.

BREWSTER, Wash. - Deputies and officers in Okanogan County are investigating after a shooting Sunday morning. Okanogan County Sheriff's deputies and officers from the Brewster police Department responded to a call at 502 North Star Road in Brewster for a report of a 19-year-old man with a gun.

ALLENTOWN, Pa. (AP) - The mother of a Pennsylvania teenager says she went from not eating or sleeping to crying tears of relief when her missing daughter was located in a popular Mexican resort city. Miu Luu tells The (Allentown) Morning Call she's happy 16-year-old Amy Yu has been found. Federal agents and Mexican authorities found Amy and 45-year-old Kevin Esterly Saturday in Playa del Carmen.

ALLENTOWN, Pa. (AP) - The mother of a Pennsylvania teenager says she went from not eating or sleeping to crying tears of relief when her missing daughter was located in a popular Mexican resort city. Miu Luu tells The (Allentown) Morning Call she's happy 16-year-old Amy Yu has been found. Federal agents and Mexican authorities found Amy and 45-year-old Kevin Esterly Saturday in Playa del Carmen.

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) - Police in Tennessee say a teenager has been charged with kidnapping after a car with a baby girl inside was stolen outside a Memphis restaurant. Memphis police said on its Facebook page that 18-year-old James Williams was charged Sunday with kidnapping and theft of property.

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) - Police in Tennessee say a teenager has been charged with kidnapping after a car with a baby girl inside was stolen outside a Memphis restaurant. Memphis police said on its Facebook page that 18-year-old James Williams was charged Sunday with kidnapping and theft of property.

YAKIMA, Wash. - The Yakima City Council is expected to take a vote on whether to repeal a ban on pit bull terriers Tuesday. The ban has been in place for more than 30 years. Pit bulls have been banned since the late 80s and city councils have voted repeatedly to keep it in place. More recently there have been bills in the legislature to repeal breed-specific bans, but those bills have failed.

YAKIMA, Wash. - The Yakima City Council is expected to take a vote on whether to repeal a ban on pit bull terriers Tuesday. The ban has been in place for more than 30 years. Pit bulls have been banned since the late 80s and city councils have voted repeatedly to keep it in place. More recently there have been bills in the legislature to repeal breed-specific bans, but those bills have failed.